Ceeto Capital Group LLC Has $3.08 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ceeto Capital Group LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,467,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,859,123. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $128.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.61. The company has a market cap of $317.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.